I had a friend recently get married, and at her reception there was a photo booth. Kyle and I got our picture taken, and she just recently posted the link to view them on FB. We have been occupied with school and work, so we haven't had many opportunities to take pictures of us together. I liked this one, so here we are:

Isn't he so handsome?! :)

May the odds be ever in your favor

Yes, we saw Hunger Games!

Friday night was date night. Much needed and much anticipated! We started off the night with dinner at Rumbi's (coupon discount = bonus!). The food was so yummy, and I loooove their sweet potato fries! Mmm. So yummy. Definitely added to the "family favorite" list. After eating, we went to stand in line for the 9:20 showing. The line wasn't too bad once we got there, but glad we bought our tickets before going to dinner. The line grew very quickly after we arrived. (VIP movie tickets were given as part of a wedding gift to remind us that dating in marriage is very important = another bonus!).

The movie was awesome! Kyle hadn't read the books, so he didn't really know what to expect besides the water-down summary I gave him. Almost everything in the movie was as I had imagined when reading... except Peeta. I imagined him more.... manly. At the end I was ready for the next one to come on! haha. I had been watching season 2 of 24 lately, and when I wanna watch the next episode I just click "next" and ta-da! So sad its gonna be a while before its out. Totally worth it. Kyle liked it, too. Bonus!

However, as I thought about how good the movie was and how well they compared it to the book (besides the fact so much was left out, and reading is always better than watching)... I realized how much of a twisted story it is. Seriously. The capitol = the epitome of vanity and pride. And kids battling it out to the death of all but one?! Who came up with this story?! And why do I find it so entertaining?? Hmm... food for thought.

Fun date with my totally awesome and handsome husband = success. :)

AZALEA

My niece is the cutest. Ever. Last night she came over to my house while her parents worked, and my family went to see the VIP showing of Hunger Games. She has quite the hilarious personality! I always have so much fun with her. When I went to pick her up, my mom had given her her very own CTR ring. She was so excited to wear it and show it to Uncle Kyle because its a special ring.

Can you see her excitement?!

My favorite part about seeing my niece is her excitement to see me. Seriously. It melts my heart every time. As soon as she sees me she yells "Elena!" and runs and jumps into my arms while we chat and say how excited we are to see each other. Yeah, pretty awesome. And yes, I am the favorite aunt... but that's just between the two of us :)

Our night was filled with bike riding, a walk around the neighborhood, teaching her random words in spanish (per her request), grilled cheese and tomato soup (I know, so healthy and in line with my new desired "eating habits" haha), Little Mermaid (in which she imitated Ariel throughout the whole movie; even asked for a hair tie to put around her ankles to keep them together like the mermaids!), throwing around my large exercise ball (hey, that's considered exercise, right?), coloring, and the beginning of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (her new favorite).

Nights like that really make me excited for my own children. Until she gets crabby and doesn't listen to me. Then I'm happy to hand her back over to my brother and SIL. But let's be honest, that hasn't happened in a very long time!

Blessed

The words of a favorite song of mine come to mind on days like today... "Count your many blessings name them one by one.... count your many blessings see what God hath done." Its amazing how many ways we are blessed each and every day, and how small and simple they may be. They can easily go unnoticed if we don't take the time to think about all that we have.

And this flower is just so cheery, don't ya think??

I am getting down to the end of my journey called Nursing School. Its been a long 2 (and a half) years... and I sure hope that this really is the end. We have a lot going on in these next few weeks, points to earn that can make or break. To think about it all at once nearly puts me into cardiac arrest... so I've just been taking it one day at a time. Today we had our first quiz in Psych, and I got 20/20! Helps with the cushion heading into the final. If you don't know, in order to pass each semester, a student must average a 76% or better in tests/quizzes ALONE. Then, once that is accomplished, the points from ALL the other "busy work" throughout the semester are added into the equation to give the final grade. If you are normally a straight-A student, be prepared for that streak to come to an end. ha! Basically, I am happy that so far I am doing well. It hasn't always been fun or exciting and times I question why I decided to go this route, but I am reassured time and time again this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I am grateful to be in Nursing school.